Baghdad Denies Reports on Plan to Launch Operation in Kirkuk

Iraq denied late Wednesday any plan on launching a military operation in Kirkuk province.

Iraqi government spokesman refuted information that Baghdad was planning to restore control over the Kirkuk province controlled by the Kurdistan Regional Government.

“We deny any planning or thinking of an attack in Kirkuk,” the spokesperson told Al Arabiya broadcaster.

Earlier in the day, Iraqi Kurdistan Region Security Council accused Baghdad of preparing a large-scale military operation to restore control over the oil rich disputed province, which has been under the control of the Kurdish Peshmerga militia for three years.

On September 25, more than 90 percent of voters taking part in the referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan backed the region’s independence from Baghdad.

Iraqi authorities declared the referendum illegal, while Turkey and Iran criticized the vote amid fears that it might strengthen separatist feelings in their own ethnic Kurdish minorities.

Following the referendum, the Iraqi parliament voted in favor of dismissal of all the Kurdish public sector employees, involved in the vote and sending troops to the disputed areas of Kurdistan, particularly to Kirkuk.